Turbomachinery, such as gas turbine engines employed in aircraft, currently is dependent on either labyrinth (see FIGS. 1A-1E), brush (see FIGS. 2A and 2B) or carbon seals for critical applications. Labyrinth seals provide adequate sealing but they are extremely dependent on maintaining radial tolerances at all points of engine operation. The radial clearance must take into account factors such as thermal expansion, shaft motion, tolerance stack-ups, rub tolerance, etc. Minimization of seal clearance is necessary to achieve maximum labyrinth seal effectiveness. In addition to increased leakage if clearances are not maintained, such as during a high-G maneuver, there is the potential for increases in engine vibration. Straight-thru labyrinth seals (FIG. 1A) are the most sensitive to clearance changes, with large clearances resulting in a carryover effect. Stepped labyrinth seals (FIGS. 1B and 1C) are very dependent on axial clearances, as well as radial clearances, which limits the number of teeth possible on each land. Pregrooved labyrinth seals (FIG. 1D) are dependent on both axial and radial clearances and must have an axial clearance less than twice the radial clearance to provide better leakage performance than stepped seals.
Other problems associated with labyrinth seals arise from heat generation due to knife edge to seal land rub, debris from hardcoated knife edges or seal lands being carried through engine passages, and excessive engine vibration. When seal teeth rub against seal lands, it is possible to generate large amounts of heat. This heat may result in reduced material strength and may even cause destruction of the seal if heat conducted to the rotor causes further interference. It is possible to reduce heat generation using abradable seal lands, but they must not be used in situations where rub debris will be carried by leakage air directly into critical areas such as bearing compartments or carbon seal rubbing contacts. This also holds true for hardcoats applied to knife edges to increase rub capability. Other difficulties with hardcoated knife edges include low cycle fatigue life debits, rub induced tooth-edge cracking, and the possibility of handling damage. Engine vibration is another factor to be considered when implementing labyrinth seals. As mentioned previously, this vibration can be caused by improper maintenance of radial clearances. However, it can also be affected by the spacing of labyrinth seal teeth, which can produce harmonics and result in high vibratory stresses.
In comparison to labyrinth seals, brush seals can offer very low leakage rates. For example, flow past a single stage brush seal is approximately equal to a four knife edge labyrinth seal at the same clearance. Brush seals are also not as dependent on radial clearances as labyrinth seals. Leakage equivalent to approximately a 2 to 3 mil gap is relatively constant over a large range of wire-rotor interferences. However, with current technology, all brush seals will eventually wear to line on line contact at the point of greatest initial interference. Great care must be taken to insure that the brush seal backing plate does not contact the rotor under any circumstances. It is possible for severing of the rotor to occur from this type of contact. In addition, undue wire wear may result in flow increases up to 800% and factors such as changes in extreme interference, temperature and pressure loads, and rubbing speeds must be taken into account when determining seal life.
The design for common brush seals, as seen in FIGS. 2A and 2B, is usually an assembly of densely packed flexible wires sandwiched between a front plate and a back plate. The free ends of the wires protrude beyond the plates and contact a land or runner, with a small radial interference to form the seal. The wires are angled so that the free ends point in the same direction as the movement of the runner. Brush seals are sized to maintain a tight diametral fit throughout their useful life and to accommodate the greatest combination of axial movement of the brush relative to the rotor.
Brush seals may be used in a wide variety of applications. Although brush seal leakage generally decreases with exposure to repeated pressure loading, incorporating brush seals where extreme pressure loading occurs may cause a “blow over” condition resulting in permanent deformation of the seal wires. Brush seals have been used in sealing bearing compartments, however coke on the wires may result in accelerated wear and their leakage rate is higher than that of carbon seals.
One additional limitation of brush seals is that they are essentially unidirectional in operation, i.e., due to the angulation of the individual wires, such seals must be oriented in the direction of rotation of the moving element. Rotation of the moving element or rotor in the opposite direction, against the angulation of the wires, can result in permanent damage and/or failure of the seal. In the particular application of the seals required in the engine of a V-22 Osprey aircraft, for example, it is noted that during the blade fold wing stow operation, the engine rotates in reverse at very low rpm's. This is required to align rotor blades when stowing wings. This procedure is performed for creating a smaller aircraft footprint onboard an aircraft carrier. Reverse rotation of the engine would damage or create failure of brush seals such as those depicted in FIGS. 2A and 2B.
Carbon seals are generally used to provide sealing of oil compartments and to protect oil systems from hot air and contamination. Their low leakage rates in comparison to labyrinth or brush seals are well-suited to this application but they are very sensitive to pressure balances and tolerance stack-ups. Pressure gradients at all operating conditions and especially at low power and idle conditions must be taken into account when considering the use of carbon seals. Carbon seals must be designed to have a sufficiently thick seal plate and the axial stack load path must pass through the plate as straight as possible to prevent coning of the seal. Another consideration with carbon seals is the potential for seepage, weepage or trapped oil. Provisions must be made to eliminate these conditions which may result in oil fire, rotor vibration, and severe corrosion.
According to the Advanced Subsonic Technology Initiative as presented at the NASA Lewis Research Center Seals Workshop, development of advanced sealing techniques to replace the current seal technologies described above will provide high returns on technology investments. These returns include reducing direct operating costs by up to 5%, reducing engine fuel burn up to 10%, reducing engine oxides of emission by over 50%, and reducing noise by 7 dB. For example, spending only a fraction of the costs needed to redesign and re-qualify complete compressor or turbine components on advanced seal development can achieve comparable performance improvements. In fact, engine studies have shown that by applying advanced seals techniques to just a few locations can result in reduction of 2.5% in SFC.